Choosing and
Introducing Words for
Explicit Vocabulary
Instruction
Objectives
• Review Quiz
• Discuss Methods for Integrating
Explicit Vocabulary Instruction into
Your Text-Talk Discussions
– Reviewing Effective Practices
– Applying examples with target words
from Running Out of Time
Choosing and
Introducing Words for
Explicit Vocabulary
Instruction
What does it mean to
KNOW a word?
What does it mean to
know a word?
Four Levels of Word Knowledge
• Unknown
• Initial word knowledge: seen or heard it
• Partial Word Knowledge: know one meaning
and can use in a sentence
• Full Word Knowledge: more than one
meaning and can use in several ways
portend
tyranny
So how long does it take to KNOW a word??
• Students need to be exposed to a word at
least six times in context before they
have enough experience with the word to
determine its meaning and use it as part of
their daily language.
• Explicit instruction in new words enhances the
probability that students will understand the
words when they encounter them.
Typical Word Learning
Strategies
• Analyze word parts
• Checking a dictionary
• Using context clues
These ideas DIFFER dramatically
from Beck & McKeown’s ideas
about how to teach vocabulary…
Definitions are little help…
• Weak differentiation: Definition does not
differentiate how the word is different from
other words (e.g. conspicuous = “easily seen.” How
does that differentiate from visible?)
• Vague language (typical = “being a type”)
• More likely interpretation: Definition uses
familiar words in unfamiliar ways (e.g. devious =
“straying from the right course, not
straightforward.” Students could interpret as
walking.
• Multiple pieces of information: definition gives no
help in how to integrate pieces (e.g. exotic =
“foreign, strange, not native”)
Context cues CAN help,
but not always
• “Rebecca, come back and eat your
Cheerios, they’re getting soggy.”
• Rebecca (4 years old) inferred soggy
meant sad and lonely. And then, she
later used it in her own language…
• I don’t want to go to bed – I feel
soggy!”
–
When context clues do work, for every
100 words, only learn 3-15 of them.
Conditions (and problems) for
learning words from context
• READ WIDELY TO encounter lots of NEW
WORDS
– Many students who in need of
vocabulary development don’t read
widely, or they don’t read books that
include words with which they are
unfamiliar
• STUDENTS MUST HAVE SKILLS to infer
meanings of words from context
– Many students who in need of
vocabulary development are less able
to derive information from context
How helpful are
context clues? It depends…
• Directive contexts: likely to lead to
correct inference about meaning (86%)
– Nora grew smaller and smaller and finally
vanished. (disappeared)
• General contexts: enough clues to infer
general category of meaning (49%)
– Brian said morosely, “This miserable town
will be the death of us!” (bad, negatively –
but specifics are undefined)
How helpful are
context clues? It depends…
• Non-Directive contexts: (27%) little
assistance in helping to define meaning
– Freddy look at the team members. Each
looked more hapless than the next.
(Happy? Untrained? But descriptive…)
• Misdirective contexts: direct to
incorrect meaning of word (3%)
–
John was exhilarated after his first
experience mountain climbing.
The biggest challenge…
• There are too many words to teach!
– Students encounter so many new words
in reading, how could we teach them all?
• Not all words need attention
• Not all words should be treated equally
• According to Beck & McKeown, what
types of words need attention and
which can we “ignore”?
Choosing words to teach
• Tier One words: Most basic words,
rarely require instruction (cake,
street, walk, jump)
• Tier Three words: Words that are
low frequency, or are domain specific
(isotope, woof, peninsula), probably
learned best when needed in content
Tier Two words
• High frequency words for mature language users
• Words that would be found across a variety of
domains
• Words that can be worked with in a variety of
ways so that students can build rich
representations of them and their connections to
other words and concepts
• Words for which students understand the general
concept, but their use would provide more precision
• e.g. astonished, coincidence, absurd, scrumptious
–
Mad: frustrated, angry, disturbed …
Words from
Running Out of Time
• Tier 1:
• Tier 2:
• Tier 3:
Beck & McKeown
Teaching Vocabulary
• Start with instructional
materials/books – choose words that
are important for comprehension
– Multiple exposures (at least FIVE)
– Breadth of information
– Actively engage with word by thinking
and processing deeply
–
HOW DO WE DO THAT??
Student-Friendly
Explanations
Alternatives to the dictionary
Student-Friendly Explanations
Two Key Strategies
• Characterize the word and how it is
typically used
• Explain the meaning in everyday
language
Student-Friendly Definitions
Characterize the Word
• Explanation should be as particular as
possible (When do I use this word
particularly? Why do we have such a
word?)
– Tamper: Defined as, “to interfere in a secret
or incorrect way.” Could be construed as
meddling. Does not get at the idea of messing
something up in a sinister way.
– Student friendly explanation: “to change
something secretly so that it doesn’t work
properly or becomes harmful.”
Student-Friendly Explanations
Explain Meaning in an
Everyday Way
• Ally: Defined as, “one associated with
another”
– What is association?
• Student friendly explanation: “somebody who does
things with you”
• Does that characterize “ally”?
– Doesn’t get at main characteristic of helping in
a common cause
• Better student friendly explanation: “Someone who
helps you in what you are trying to do, especially
when there are other people who are against you.”
Student friendly definitions
in Running Out of Time?
• scandalous (p.10) – to be disgraceful in
a way that offends or shocks people
• undistorted (p.49) – looking normal and
not stretched or twisted out of shape
• admiration (p. 14)? Solemn? (p. 20)
Activities for Building
Vocabulary
Students interact with the words
Example - Nonexample
Shades of Meaning
How would you rank these?
Confidant
Ally
Friend
Acquaintance
Thinking Deeply About Words
Relating Words
• See whether there is anything about the
words that is related.
• Create an activity to relate the words.
– Reluctant, insisted, drowsy might be
demonstrated by facial expressions
– Create a sentence using all words: Would you
prefer to budge a sleeping lamb or a ferocious
lion? Why?
– Ask students to choose between two words: If
you get your clothes ready to wear to school
before you go to sleep, would that be sensible
or raucous?
What other techniques
can you use to teach
word meaning?
•
•
•
•
•
•
Making Choices
Idea Completion
Have You Ever?
Word Associations
Using words in one context
Classifying words
“Interacting with Words”:
Making Choices
• If any of the things I say might be examples of
people clutching something, say “clutching.” If
not, don’t say anything.
– Holding tight to a purse
– Holding a fisful of money
– Softly petting a cat’s fur
• If any of the things I say would make some one
radiant, say, “You’d be radiant.” If not, don’t say
anything.
– Winning a million dollars
– Getting a hug from a favorite movie star
– Walking to the post office
Thinking Deeply About Words
Idea Completions
• Provide students with stem that
requires them to integrate a word’s
meaning into a context in order to
explain a situation
– The audience asked the virtuoso to play
another piece of music because…
– The skiing teacher said Maria was a
novice on the ski slopes because …
Interacting with Words:
Questions, Reasons, Examples
• If you are walking around a dark room, would you
do it cautiously? Why? What are some other
things that need to be done cautiously?
• What is something you could do to impress your
teacher? Why? What is something that might
impress your mother?
• Which of these things would be extraordinary?
Why or why not?
– A shirt that was comfortable or a shirt that washed
itself?
– A person who has a library card, or a person who has
read all the books in the library?
Thinking Deeply About Words
Have You Ever …?
• Helps students associate new words
with contexts and activities from
their own experiences
– Describe a time when you might urge
someone?
– Describe a time when you might banter
with someone?
– What would make you gleeful?
Thinking Deeply About Words
Word associations
• Associate a new word when presented
with a word or phrase:
– Words = accomplice, virtuoso,
philanthropist, novice
– Which word goes with crook?
– Which word goes with “gift to build a new
hospital”?
– ROT (p. 12-13) dawdled, converged, implore
Thinking Deeply About Words
Using the Words in One Context
• What would an immense plate of
spaghetti look like?
• Would you feel miserable after you
ate all that spaghetti? Why or why
not?
• What would it look like to eat the
spaghetti in a leisurely way?
Thinking Deeply About Words
Use the Same Format for
Words
• If you satisfy your curiosity, do you need
to find out more or have you found out all
you need? Why?
• If a dog was menacing, would you want to
pet it or move away? Why?
• If you wanted to see something exquisite,
would you go to a museum or a grocery
store? Why?
Thinking Deeply About Words
Classifying
• Mammals
–
–
–
–
–
–
People
Cats
Dogs
Lions
Mice
Whales
• Reptiles
–
–
–
–
Snakes
Alligators
Dinosaurs
Lizards
Thinking Deeply About Words
Classifying
• What makes
something a
mammal?
– Hair
– Warm-blooded
– Milk to young
• What makes
something a
reptile?
– Skin?
– Cold-blooded
– Shape of head
Teaching words in
semantic groups
Bad People
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Villain
Malefactor
Burglar
Embezzler
Miscreant
Cad
Rogue
Scoundrel
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Red
Crimson
Scarlet
Pink
Blush
Ruby
Sanguine
Carmine
Semantic Feature
Analysis
Try It Out With
Your Lesson Template:
The Scarecrow’s Hat
Tier 2 words in
Running Out of Time
Work in groups of three.
Choose a chapter 1-8.
Locate three Tier 2 words.
Develop questions and activities for
word building focused on each of
those three words.
Homework
• Check the Wiki!!
• Read Hancock article on Literature
Response Journals (learn about four
types of responses)
• Read Running Out of Time Ch. 9-16
• Complete Book Activity 7: Literature
Response Journal
Bring to class on Tuesday!